Flow cytometry in the diagnosis and monitoring of acute leukemia in children

Abstract

Acute leukemia is the most common group of neoplasms diagnosed in the pediatric population, the most frequent being acute lymphoblastic leukemia of B cell lineage. Immunophenotyping has come to play an integral role in the enumeration of leukemic populations, assignment of lineage, identification of prognostic subgroups, and subsequent post-therapeutic monitoring. This review will describe the current status of flow cytometric immunophenotyping as applied to the diagnosis and monitoring of pediatric patients with acute leukemia and suggest areas for future investigation.